Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water

Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water

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IMO’s International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments (the “Convention”) will enter into force on 8th September 2017.

On 7th July 2017, the 71st session of the IMO’s Marine Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC) reached agreement on a revised implementation schedule for the installation of a Ballast Water Management (BWM) system under the Convention. The revised schedule effectively postpones by two years the compliance deadline for installing an approved BWM system for ships constructed before 8th September 2017.

Under the Convention, all ships in international trade are required to manage their ballast water and sediments to a certain standard, according to a ship-specific BWM plan. In addition, all ships are required to carry on board a ballast water record book and an international BWM certificate, with the current BWM standards being phased in over a period of time.

Most ships would need to install an on-board ballast water treatment system that meets the IMO’s standards by the date of a vessel’s first International Oil Pollution Prevention (IOPP) renewal survey after the Convention enters into force on 8th September 2017.

The new revised implementation schedule applies to approved BWM treatment systems and specifies the acceptable levels of viable organisms left in ballast water after treatment in accordance with the Convention’s D-2 Ballast Water Performance Standard.

The revised implementation schedule (included in an amended Regulation B-31 of the Convention) now contains the following deadlines:

  • Vessels constructed (keel laid) on or after 8th September 2017 should have a BWM system installed on delivery, and
  • The revised compliance date for existing vessels (keel laid before 8th September 2017) will depend on when the IOPP renewal survey occurs. The MEPC text has been agreed as follows:

  • Existing vessels will have until:

    • 10.1 The first [IOPP] renewal survey… following the date of entry into force of the BWMC if:
    • .1 This survey is completed on or after 8th September 2019; or
      .2 A renewal survey [i.e. IOPP renewal survey] is completed on or after 8th September 2014 but prior to September 8th, 2017;

    • 10.2 The second renewal survey… following the date of entry into force of the BWM Convention if the first renewal survey following the date of entry into force of the BWM Convention is completed prior to 8th September 2019, provided that the conditions of paragraph 10.1.2 are not met.

    • For ships constructed before 8th September 2017 and which are not subject to the MARPOL IOPP renewal survey, compliance with the D-2 standard shall be no later than 8th September 2024.

      This revised schedule is summarised as follows:


      *If the first IOPP renewal survey following the date of entry into force of the Convention is completed between 8th September 2017 and prior to 8th September 2019.

      A list of over sixty BWM systems that have either received basic or type approval by the IMO can be found here

      It is important to note that the revised implementation schedule agreed at the 71st session of the IMO’s MEPC delays the final deadline for compliance with the D-2 discharge standard and the associated installation of a type-approved BWM system. The agreement does not affect compliance with the Convention’s D-1 standard on ballast water exchange or the requirements covering BWM documentation upon entry into force of the Convention on 8th September 2017.

      Below you can find Circular Letters of certain Maritime Administrations:

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